In our ten-year strategy Making Great Art Work, we committed to improving our capacity to gather data and information from arts organisations.

By gathering data in a consistent and usable format, we aim to:

• Help funded arts organisations to better understand the context in which they make work
• Demonstrate the outcomes of our investments
• Make a more detailed and better case about the impact of our work as the national development agency for the arts
• Support the development of policy on a national basis

The data will help us report on the number of people benefiting from work supported by the Arts Council, whether they are:

• Artists who are funded to make work and to develop their practice
• Artists who are employed as part of the production, presentation and/or delivery of arts activities
• Other professionals who are employed in the delivery of arts activities
• Volunteers assisting in the delivery of arts programmes
• Members of the general public engaging with the work as readers, listeners, visitors, audience members, attenders, or as participants in arts activities
• Targeted groups engaging with or in arts activities in particular settings

Finally, we want to get better at understanding the direct costs of creating and making work, as well as the levels of other income generated through Arts Council funded activity.